The present invention relates generally to support structure and more particularly to an adjustable hinge mountable to an adjustable support bracket.
Personal mobility vehicles and power wheelchairs have become an increasingly popular means for people with slight or severe disablements to move about independently. What were once simple manual wheelchairs fitted with a motor, have evolved into highly sophisticated vehicles. Dual drive motor power wheelchairs are known; one is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,131. Other power wheelchairs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,513,832; 4,538,857; 5,094,310; 5,145,020; and 5,366,037.
With more and more people seeking the assistance of powered mobility vehicles, there is increased demand for vehicles which may be modified to fit the individual. There is also a need for better, less expensive methods of manufacturing the vehicles.
One particular area of the personal mobility vehicle in which adaptability would be particularly beneficial is the seat. Since people who use personal mobility vehicles typically spend many hours each day in them, it is important that the seat be as comfortable as possible. To this end, users would prefer seats that may be configured to their individual requirements.
Seats are known in the art having a hinged structure supporting seat and back portions in which the back rotates relative to the seat between an open or upright configuration for sitting and a closed or collapsed configuration for storage, for example. What is needed is an adjustable hinged structure supporting seat and back portions in which the range of rotation of the backrest portion may be adapted by a user to modify the angle between the back and seat portion in the upright or open configuration.
In conventional personal mobility vehicles having hinged structure supporting seat and back portions, the hinges are often welded to a support member that also accepts supports for armrests. In order to fit a conventional vehicle with different sized seats, the hinges would need to be welded to the support member in different locations. The present invention overcomes the need for welding the hinges to the armrest tube by providing brackets for each hinge which are relocatable along the support member. Thus the manufacturer of the vehicle can produce the same support member and bracket for use with a variety of sized seats. The brackets of the present invention may also be used to attach accessories to the vehicle other than seat type structures.
It is also desirable that the armrest supported by the personal mobility vehicle be adjustable. Different users may prefer the armrests to be closer or farther from them, even with the same sized seat. Furthermore, the same user may wish to change the position of the armrests for different activities. The present invention incorporates an adjustable armrest structure into the above described adjustable bracket for the seat hinge. Thus, the same bracket provides independent adjustment for the armrests as well as the seat hinges.
The present invention is directed to an adjustable hinge and support structure. A first hinge arm having multiple openings is rotatably connected to a second hinge arm having a cam structure. A pin inserted in one of the openings interacts with the cam structure to limit rotation of the hinge arm within a range of rotation. The range of rotation for the hinge is adjustable depending on which of the multiple openings is chosen for insertion of the pin.
The present invention also provides for adjustability in the positioning of the hinge with respect to the support structure as well as the positioning of an accessory. A bracket includes an opening for slidable receipt of the bracket on a support member. A first treaded opening in the bracket provides for releasable securement of the bracket to the support member. A second threaded opening in the bracket is aligned with a slot in the support member for releasable securement of an accessory support slidably received within the support member.